Risotto
Toast the rice, feed it hot stock, keep it moving, then beat in cold butter and Parmigiano off the heat. The grains stay firm and the sauce makes itself.
Why it works
Risotto is a dish where the rice makes its own sauce. Italian risotto rice has large, plump grains with a soft starchy outer layer around a firmer core. As the grains tumble in hot stock, that outer layer swells and sheds starch into the liquid. The starch thickens the stock into a creamy sauce while the centre of each grain stays whole and slightly firm to the bite.
Rice starch comes in two forms. Amylopectin is a large, branched molecule that swells easily and leaks out of the grain, thickening liquid quickly; it is what gives risotto its creaminess. Amylose is a straight-chained molecule that holds the grain together and keeps it firm. Good risotto rice has plenty of loose amylopectin on the surface and enough amylose in the core to resist collapse. Carnaroli has the best balance, which is why most Italian cooks reach for it. Long-grain rice such as basmati sheds little starch and stays separate, so it never turns creamy.
Every step serves that balance. Toasting the dry grains heats them through so they take up stock evenly. Adding hot stock in stages and stirring often rubs the grains against each other, which loosens surface starch without smashing them. Keeping the heat lively means the rice cooks in about 17 minutes rather than stewing. Finishing off the heat with cold butter and cheese, beaten hard, emulsifies fat into the starchy liquid so the whole thing turns glossy and flows.
Piedmont grows much of Italy's risotto rice, in the flooded paddies around Vercelli and Novara, and the rice from the Baraggia plain near Biella carries its own DOP. Risotto is everyday food here. It changes with the seasons: porcini and pumpkin in autumn, white truffle from Alba in late autumn, Barolo through the winter.
What you need
- Wide, heavy-based pan: A sauté pan or shallow casserole about 26–28 cm across keeps the rice in a shallow layer so it cooks evenly and the stock reduces at the right speed.
- Saucepan for the stock: Keeps the stock at a gentle simmer on the next burner, right beside the risotto.
- Ladle: One that holds about 150 ml makes the additions easy to judge.
- Wooden spoon: A flat-ended or holed risotto spoon reaches the corners and moves the rice without breaking it.
- Fine grater: Finely grated Parmigiano melts straight into the rice; coarse shreds turn stringy.
- Lid or plate: To cover the pan for the short rest after the mantecatura.
Step by step
Get the stock simmering
Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan next to the risotto pan and keep it there. Allow about 3–4 times the volume of the rice: roughly 1 litre for 300 g, which serves four as a starter. For mains, allow 100 g rice a head and scale up. Cold stock knocks the pan off the boil every time you add it, the grains cook unevenly and the whole thing takes longer.
Tip: Homemade chicken, vegetable or light beef stock is best. A good bought stock works; dilute it if it is strongly salted, because it will reduce in the pan. Keep a kettle of hot water to hand in case you run short.
Sweat the soffritto
Melt a knob of butter with a little olive oil over medium-low heat. Add a finely chopped onion or two shallots and a pinch of salt, and cook for 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and translucent. You want sweetness without any colour; browned onion tastes bitter and shows up as brown flecks in a white risotto.
Tip: Chop the onion very small so it melts into the finished dish.
Toast the rice
Turn the heat up to medium, tip in the rice and stir to coat every grain in the fat. Keep stirring for 2–3 minutes. The grains will turn translucent at the edges with a small white dot in the centre, and the pan will smell faintly nutty. They should feel hot and dry, and start to tick against the pan. This is the tostatura.
Tip: Some cooks, especially in restaurants, toast the rice completely dry in the pan before adding fat. It works the same way. Either way, stop before the grains take on any colour.
Add the wine
Pour in a glass of dry white wine, about 100–125 ml for 300 g rice. It will hiss and steam. Stir until it has almost all evaporated and the sharp alcohol smell has gone, about a minute. Leaving it to cook off keeps the acidity bright without a raw, boozy edge.
Start adding stock
Add a ladle or two of hot stock, enough to just cover the rice, and stir. When the rice has absorbed most of it and the spoon leaves a trail across the bottom of the pan, add the next ladle. A ladle at a time is the traditional way and gives you the most control. Larger additions that just cover the rice also work well, as long as you stir often.
Tip: Stir often, not constantly. Regular stirring frees the surface starch and stops the rice sticking. Stirring every second cools the pan and adds nothing.
Keep a lively simmer
The risotto should bubble steadily the whole time, like a gentle boil, with small bubbles breaking across the surface. Too low and the rice soaks and swells before it cooks; too high and the stock boils away before it gets into the grains. Add any flavourings that need cooking, such as diced pumpkin or sautéed mushrooms, about halfway through.
Taste for the bite
Carnaroli takes about 16–18 minutes from the first ladle of stock; Arborio and Vialone Nano are a little quicker. From 14 minutes, bite a grain every minute. It is ready when it is tender with a slight resistance at the very centre and no chalky white core. Stop a minute early rather than late, because it keeps cooking in the rest.
Tip: Squash a grain between your fingers. A faint white dot in the middle is right; a gritty white centre needs another minute or two.
Aim for all'onda
Before you finish, adjust the texture with a final splash of stock. The risotto should be loose enough to flow. Shake the pan and it should move in a slow wave and settle flat on the plate, all'onda. If it stands up in a mound, it is too dry, and it will only stiffen further once the cheese goes in.
Mantecatura off the heat
Take the pan off the heat. Add cold butter in small cubes, about 40 g for four, and a good handful of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Beat hard with the wooden spoon for 30 seconds or so, shaking the pan as you go, until the risotto turns glossy and creamy. Cover and leave to rest for 1–2 minutes.
Tip: Cold butter melts slowly, so it emulsifies into the starchy liquid instead of separating into a greasy film. Some cooks hold the butter in the freezer for ten minutes first.
Season and serve
Only now taste for salt. The stock has reduced and the cheese is salty, so seasoning earlier is guesswork. Add salt and a little pepper if it needs them, loosen with a last spoonful of stock if it has tightened, and serve straight away on warm, flat plates.
Risotto rice varieties
| Rice | Grain | Starch behaviour | Cooking time | Best for |
|---|
| Carnaroli | Long, plump, superfino | Plenty of surface starch with a firm core; the most forgiving if you overshoot by a minute | 16–18 min | Almost everything; the Piedmontese and Lombard default |
| Vialone Nano | Short, round, semifino | Absorbs stock quickly and turns very creamy while holding its shape well | 15–16 min | Loose Venetian risotti, seafood and vegetable risotti |
| Arborio | Large, bold, superfino | Releases starch readily with a softer core; goes from right to mushy quickly | 15–17 min | Arancini and everyday risotto when timed carefully |
| Baldo | Large, superfino | Cooks quickly and evenly, softer than Carnaroli | 15–16 min | Simple risotti and baked rice dishes |
Classic risotti through the year
| Risotto | Where it is from | Season | What makes it |
|---|
| Alla milanese | Milan, Lombardy | All year, best in winter | Saffron, beef stock and traditionally a little bone marrow in the soffritto; served with ossobuco |
| Ai funghi porcini | Northern Italy | Autumn | Fresh porcini sautéed separately and folded in halfway, or dried porcini soaked with the liquor added to the stock |
| Alla zucca | Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont | Autumn and winter | Firm, sweet pumpkin diced small so it half dissolves into the rice; sage and Parmigiano |
| Al Barolo | Piedmont | Autumn and winter | Red Nebbiolo wine in place of the white, added in stages early on; finished with plenty of butter and cheese |
| Primavera or agli asparagi | Across the north | Spring | Asparagus stalks simmered in the stock, tips added for the last few minutes; peas and broad beans for primavera |
| Al nero di seppia | Venice, Veneto | Spring, all year | Cuttlefish cooked with the rice and its ink stirred in; usually finished with olive oil, no cheese |
| Al tartufo bianco | Alba, Piedmont | October to December | A plain risotto in bianco with butter and Parmigiano, white truffle shaved raw over each plate at the table |
Troubleshooting
It is gluey or mushy
The rice is overcooked, or it was stirred so hard the grains broke. Start tasting from 14 minutes and stop while there is still a faint bite. Choose Carnaroli, which forgives a minute too long better than Arborio. Once mushy it cannot be rescued as risotto, but it makes good arancini.
The centre of the grain is chalky
The rice needs more time, or the stock went in too fast or too cold so the outside cooked before the heat reached the core. Add another ladle of hot stock and keep simmering, tasting every minute. Next time keep the stock simmering and the heat lively throughout.
It is stiff and sticky on the plate
It needed more liquid at the end, or it sat too long before serving. Risotto tightens as it cools, so leave it a little looser in the pan than you want on the plate. Loosen with a splash of hot stock before the mantecatura, and serve as soon as it has rested.
It tastes flat
Usually a weak stock, too little cheese or no salt at the end. Taste after the mantecatura and season properly. A squeeze of lemon or a few drops of white wine vinegar can wake up a dull risotto, and a good homemade stock makes the biggest difference of all.
Some grains are soft and others still hard
The pan was too narrow and deep, or the rice was not stirred often enough, so grains at the bottom cooked faster than those on top. Use a wide pan with the rice no more than a couple of centimetres deep and stir every 30 seconds or so. Toasting every grain well at the start also helps them cook at the same rate.
It turned greasy when I added the butter
The pan was still on the heat, or the butter was warm, so the fat separated instead of emulsifying. Always finish off the heat with cold butter and beat hard. A spoonful of hot stock beaten in will usually bring it back together.
Cool leftover rice quickly
Rice can carry spores of Bacillus cereus, which survive cooking. If cooked rice sits warm, they germinate and produce a toxin that reheating does not destroy, so the danger lies in how long it stays warm before it reaches the fridge.
- Spread leftover risotto thinly on a tray or plate to cool, and get it into the fridge within an hour if you can, two at most.
- Keep it covered in the fridge and use it within a day.
- Reheat it only once, until it is steaming hot right through.
- Never leave cooked rice standing at room temperature overnight.
